In 1985, Pastor Gil graduated with a B.A. degree from the University of Pittsburgh’s College of Arts and Sciences – with a major in Rhetoric, Speech and Communication. That same year, he became a certified fellow of the Council on Legal Education Opportunity sponsored at the Dickinson School of Law. In 1988 Pastor Gil graduated with a Juris Doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh, School of Law. In his second year in law school, he served as Chairman of the Pitt Chapter of the National Black Law Students Association, and was placed on the list of the Outstanding Young Men of America two years in a row. He also worked as an intern at the Office of Disciplinary Counsel for the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania (District IV).
Pastor Gil was ordained into the Christian Ministry in September of 1993 at the Covenant Church of Pittsburgh under the leadership of Bishop Joseph L. Garlington, Sr. He counts it a great privilege to have served under Bishop Garlington’s leadership for over 40 years. He is now part of the pastoral staff and ministry of Shekinah Tabernacle that is pastored by Apostle Marilynn J. Davis, another one of Pittsburgh’s multi-racial congregations.
Since its inception in the fall of 1988, Pastor Gil has served on the Board of Governors as a mentor, rites of passage instructor and program developer for Brothers Keepers. For fourteen years, he served as the program’s executive director. Brothers Keepers is an outreach ministry of Covenant Church of Pittsburgh that exists to address the needs of single-parent young men between the ages of 9 and 18 whose fathers are absent for any reason. He now serves as the Director of Quality Programming and Instruction for Brothers Keepers. Pastor Gil has a strong interest in being part of campaigns that are designed to help young men advance into responsible adulthood. He’s written several published articles on the subject, and also conducts workshops dealing with single-parent challenges.
Pastor Gil’s hobbies include collecting books, reading, watercolor and oil painting, and building and maintaining an historic collection of African-American sacred music.
Pastor Gil is a native of Fort George Meade, Maryland and a long-time resident of the Pittsburgh area. He is single and makes his home in South Fayette, Pennsylvania.